1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an escape device used in the occurrence of a fire and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally available escapes of this type include an escape ladder and a cylindrical-shaped escape slide respectively formed with a bendable and flame-retarding member. The above escape ladder and escape slide are effective in allowing a user upstairs to make escape from an upper story of a building to the ground by letting down a lower end of the above escape ladder or escape slide from an upstairs window frame, with an upper end thereof fixedly mounted to the above window frame.
However, the above escape ladder needs to be used in such a manner that the user climbs backward down the ladder with one's foot on steps of the ladder, thereby providing a disadvantage of being not suited to crippled or weakened invalids or the aged. The above escape slide needs to be used in such a manner that the user slides down in a sitting posture with one's legs stretching within a cylindrical-shaped escape instrument, so that an increase in sliding distance increases acceleration, thereby providing a disadvantage of being in danger. To eliminate the above disadvantages, the inventor of the present application invented an emergency lifting apparatus, which is effective in allowing a user to make escape to the ground safely by carrying out a handle operation for letting-off of a wire rope from either of upper and lower drums and winding of the wire rope, with a gondola integrally mounted to a lowering machine housing with a handle, and a patent on the above emergency lifting apparatus was obtained (See the following Patent document 1). The above emergency lifting apparatus described in the Patent document 1 has the gondola being capable of accommodating persons, thereby providing an advantage of enabling escape of more than one person to be attained at a time.
Alternatively, there is also proposed an urgent escape apparatus, which enables escape to be attained in isolation from flames and smoke by incorporating, in a shroud chute at the inside or outside of a building in an independent manner for each house, a prefabricated scaffolding-shaped structure adapted to support a module obtained by incorporating a cable pulley and a control mechanism, with the above structure fixed to the ground using a big nail and a stretched net and also connected to a hydraulic motor through a gear and a gear box, and also with a motor hoisting rate determined using a control means (See the following Patent document 2, for instance). Alternatively, there is also proposed a non-power circulating-type building emergency apparatus having an air supply equipment and a lighting equipment (See the following Patent document 3, for instance).    [Patent document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 3277246    [Patent document 2] Japanese Patent Publication (Toku-hyo) No. 07-509382    [Patent document 3] Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 10-248945
The inventions as described in the above Patent documents 1 and 3, however, require a large-scaled apparatus, although providing advantages of enabling escape of more than one person to be attained safely at a time and of being economical because of no need for any drive device such as a motor. The invention as described in the above Patent document 2 provides disadvantages of being not suited to a person having trouble in the leg or the aged since the user needs to pass through the shroud chute for descending to the ground, of causing an increase in cost because of a need for a large number of components inclusive of the control device and the like, of requiring fixing or the like of the structure to the ground before escape, and of taking too much time for set-up of the apparatus to meet the necessity for momentary escape.